aes) What new analysts should know about COMPOSITES Recent additions to FEA software make it easier to find stresses and strains in composites. Tony Abbey Technical Manager Noran Engineering Inc. Westminster, Calif. The only drawback was ac- tely predicting their physi- orice amounted to just running through closed form solutions, Today's FEA does a better job. But before getting into simula- tions, it's useful to review how the materials are made, and see why accurate analyses have been slow in coming, COMPOSITE PRIMER Aerospace engineers were the first to use carbon and boron- fiber-reinforced materials. They are a mixture of brittle but strong fibers imbedded in a resin or binder. The resin is more ductile ‘Edited by Paul Dvorak than the fibers and much weaker in tensile strength. Designers soon found they could “tune” composites for high strength-to-weight ratios. Produc- tion, however, was expensive and reliability of the finished materi- als was unproven under long- term loading, environmental dam- age, and handling. The early promise of radically stronger ma- terials was broken because out- side the lab, fiber and resin mati ces could not maintain the strength of the fibers. It took a fur- ther period of test, analysis, and development before composites were accepted and understood. One thing that has not changed: experimental strength data comes still from testing coupons. These samples have fiber orientations defined relative to a coupon’s long axis. Testing loads it on this axis. To show ef- fects of fiber orientation, a series of FE simulations were run on computer models of designs with fibers varying from aligned with 82 JULY 13, 2006 ‘enough for aircraft structures including fuselages. FEA and better manufacturing have made composites predictable the coupon (0°) to right angles to it (90°). Fibers at 0° produce the strongest plies. (The table Effects of ply orientation shows strength properties.) The characteristic X;, for example, indicates the mate- rial good for 145,000 psi when ten- sion is aligned with the fiber. ‘The curve in Load versus ply angle shows the full allowable stress (X;) is obtained up to the failure load, This is because the fibers are carrying the load in the most favorable manner — along the axis. The resin stabilizes the fibers without carrying significant load. Stress at right angles to the fiber direction, X., tends to pull fibers apart. But because every- thing is symmetric at this orienta- tion, transverse stress, Xz, and shear stress, Xvz, are zero. ‘The plot shows strength drops rapidly after turning the ply even a few degrees from zero. At 10°, for example, stress at failure is down to just over 40,000 psi. ‘That's because at 10°, fibers are subjected to transverse stresses. www.machinedesign.comre \ Pee fen The resin and fibers have to ba ance applied stresses. The weaker transverse strength of the resin reduces material strength The table shows an allowable transverse tension of only 4,500 psi, ¥,, which is mostly resin strength. At intermediate angles, loads generate longitudinal, transverse, and shear stresses. ‘The first two can be in tension or compres- | ———— sion. A failure theory analogous to Von Mises stresses for isotropic materials can predict failure. Engineers would sel- dom use unidirectional layups unless loading was guaranteed to be along the fiber axis. More likely, a compos- ite would be made of several layers with the fibers at different an- gles to handle a variety of loads. So a six-layer material could be defined with se- quence of angles [0/90/—45/45/90/0) This says the top and bottom layers would be at 0° or aligned with the axis, and the middle two layers would be at 245°, and so on. The thickness of each ply would also be defined. Such a lay- up would handle transverse load- Material ing because of the 90° fibers, as well as shear loads because of the 245° fibers, The actual mix of lay- ers and angles depends on the an- ticipated loading. The layup would couple in-plane and out-of- plane loads because it is not sym- metric about the central thick- ness plane. There is a 45° layer on one side and a 45° on the other MACHINE DESIGN 83 © JULY 13, 2006 ‘wwrw.machinedesign.comia Ue SS CSc Cee ea Pro mua es mode! shows its simulation Cer Ry ad 160,000 z 140,000 3 120,000 3 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 o 20,000 0 Banas side. So pulling on a beam of this design would bend and twist it, a phenomena called extensional loading. Extensional coupling also produces an axial response from a bending load. To avoid this, symmetric lay- re often used. For example (0/90/~45/45/45/-45/90/0} This symmetric layup avoids bending and extensional cou- pling, The design is a special class because it has a balanced layup. Each 0° has a 90° mate and every also avoids in-plane coupling and doesn't distort from shearing modes generated by axial loads. Conversely, engineers may want coupling in the structural design. Forward-swept wings, for example, can be designed so that bending twists the wing tips up to avoiding structural coupling that may induce flutter. MANUFACTURING METHODS Examples so far are simple lay- ups that could be made from prepreg sheets, These are sheets -45° has a 45° mate, The layup es rhese are shee! A four-ply pele? Ply Ply 2 Ply3 Ply 4 aq] SS MACHINE DESIGN Atypical laminate, or layup, is made up of individual plies. Each has fibers laid in a specific orientation and held in place by a resin matrix. The 0° angle is aligned with the coupon and 90° is transverse to it. 84 JULY 13, 2006 2 40 60 Ply angle (°) of fibers preimpregnated with resin, Manufacturers cut the sheets to shape and assemble them ona mold. They are put in an autoclave and heated under pres- sure. Resin fills voids between sheets and flows to form a contin- uous matrix of resin and fiber. Other fabrication techniques include: * Hand layup of fiber in a cloth or weave over a mold, which then has resin manually applied * Filament winding wraps mate- rial around a mandrel with indi- vidual fibers bathed in resin. This can be a simple cylindrical linear winding or a complex, tapered, and nonlinear shape. Manually or machine laid tapes | form overlays and joints, * Resin-transfer molding uses | high pressure and temperature to make complex parts. PUTTING FEA TO WORK A sample analysis shows how FEA works on composites and iF lustrates a few recently devel- oped features. www.machinedesign.com How ply angle changes load capacity 100sa Ss) MCE ome PCa COU OS ec Lay a doubly curved surface, Sy Se rm Ac CSc CU | Ces Mod Sui) i strap using a local-ply orientation system. First, define the material prop- | seque curved surfaces where fibers erties. These are more complex | _ Define the reference angle. | want to follow “great circle” for orthotropic materials such as | Sheets of prepreg are placed on a | routes — the shortest distance composites. The FEA input form | structure either lengthwise, edge- | between two points. FEA pro- shows how it groups stiffness and | wise, or at some angle. The angle | grams such as NEiLaminate Tools strength properties. affects analysis results. Of cou perform draping analyses to cal- Define ply layup. It is impor- | a structure's fiber orientation can | ————— } tant to describe the ply stacking | be complex, especially in doubly | | Hill MACHINE DESIGN 86 * JULY 13, 2006 www.machinedesign.comEE PUTS The input =| window for NEiNastran Modeler shows a six-ply composite. After defining the stack copied, modified, and stored toa library for reuse. Library of previously Stress and Symmetry is switched onto Choose one of four used composite lay-ups _stiffness terms easily define lay failure criter 20 orthotropic material is defined in NeiNastran through this window. Values come from the material A few applications for composites ‘manufacturer or testi Athletes often demand high performance from sporting equipment such as culate the continuous variation in | | fishing rods, ski poles, bicycle frames, and gym equipment. Materials used in orientation angle. the sporting industry vary widely both in fiber and resin types. Glass fibers are In other cases, software can | | often used as an alternative to expensive, high-strength carbons, And Kevlar project cylindrical or spherical co- | | May be used because of its toughness. ordinate systems onto structure || The analysis also varies in a similar way. Many applications are built on surfaces to produce a reasonable | | experience and testing. Other designs need FE analysis. There's often natural representation of ply orientation. | | synergy between a company's practical experience with this product and ‘Represent the outer mold || manufacturing methods and the FEA's predictive capabilities. line, It is important to visualize Forensic analysis is one way to improve product design and reduce physical the relative thickness and posi- | | testing. n this phase, past design failures are compared to analysis, and then tions of shell structures so they | | analysis is put into the design cycle. can be modified as simulations re- The marine industry has been using composite fiberglass and plywood hulls veal shortcomings. for years, well before the aerospace industry. Hull designs initially used proven Postprocessing. Once analy- | | experience rather than formal analysis. A wide range of vessels — from dinghies sis completes, results must go to | | to aircraft carriers — now use formal analysis to get the best out of designs. postprocessing. There is alot of || __ Racing cars have been the significant force in the automotive industry. Formula data involved in complex layup | | One, which dominates European racing, has been agoressively using advanced and multi-ply structures, so | | composites for years. Sophisticated analysis tunes the racing-car tub for stiffness clear presentations needs logi- | | and energy absorption. The remarkable strength-to-weight ratios and durability of cal approaches. these structures are testament to the long involvement with high-end analysis and To get a feel for actual stress | | testing of composites. distributions, look at them for || Mainstream automotive industry has seen litle uptake for major structural longitudinal, transverse, and | | parts, because of production and cost issues. Itis only when performance is the shear directions. The combina- | | goal that carbon composites are used. A curious anomaly was in the production tion of stresses in the X,, Y;, and | | of cheap, high-volume fiberglass cars in Europe in the 60s and 70s. Safety XY directions contribute to the | | considerations and a higher demand for comfort saw to their decline. failure index. The bicycle frames in the accompanying images uses the NASA Langley LarcO2 method, | MAKE CONTACT WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK which takes into account tension, | Yoram Engineering Inc, noran.com | Did youfind this information = compression with and transverse . fiber, and shear terms. MD SE! | Senay: Guemt MACHINE DESIGN 88 + JULY 13, 2006 www.machinedesign.com